It is the United States that started the current trade war with other economies and any trade war would only bring losses and failures to all parties, Czech President Milos Zeman has said.

In an interview with Czech News Agency published Wednesday, Zeman talked about the United States imposing duties on aluminum and steel imports, which resulted in some of the affected countries responding by announcing retaliatory measures on some U.S. goods.

Subsequently, Washington took further measures and others prepared similar steps in retaliation, he added.

Zeman said he was taught by elementary economy textbooks, which warned against protectionism and a duty or trade war.

"Historically, they have always shown that even if this might have brought a short-term profit, it was eventually a long-term loss," he commented.

"Being trained by these textbooks, I am telling myself that any trade war, not only between America and the European Union, but also between America and China, America and Russia, is a war that is the so-called lose-lose strategy, which brings failure and loss to all parties," he said.

The Czech leader added that he could pinpoint who started the trade disputes.

"Although I praised the American President a while ago, it was initiated by the United States in this case," he said.

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